Brunner- Ch. 7

Chapter 7 Reflection

Karly Brunner

This chapter was a bit repetitive of the earlier chapters I read, which discussed old type methods and typesetting. It blows my mind how far we have come from hand type setting to auto correct on laptops. The fact that people used to hand pour letters for a typeface does not even sound fathomable because it is so labor intensive. Compare to today, designers press buttons and manipulate letters on the computer and, zoilá, a new typeface is born! The idea that one couldn’t even change the size of a particular typeface really blew my mind the most. Not only can I choose from hundreds of typefaces, styles, and sizes, I can also manually “destroy” the letters using programs such as Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.  I found it ironic that people back then though Linotype and Monotype were life changing in the world of typography, where as today, it seems so tedious and impractical.  I think the art of hand compositions should be revived because it is such a beautiful skill that would be fun to experience. This chapter really allowed me to open my eyes and realize just how much I take for granted, something even as small as a typeface is something I never even thought about before. I couldn’t even begin to describe how different my college experience and life in general would be if it weren’t for technological advances in typography. Hand writing papers, no form of social media? Our world would be a different place without the advances that were made during the industrial revolution. Digital typesetting is continuously evolving and improving, which makes me wonder what it will be like in 10, 20, even 50 years? I think every typographic innovation has improved our lives in some way, and continue to enhance our abilities to learn and discover the world through the time periods and regions they represent.